1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to chalk line reels and, more particularly, to a closure system for selectively blocking a fill opening through which chalk is introduced to a storage space bounded by a housing on the chalk line reel.
2. Background Art
Chalk line reels are used extensively by professionals and hobbyists primarily for construction projects. In a typical chalk line reel, a housing defines a storage space for both a line spool and a supply of chalk. The spool is either manually rotated or spring biased for rotation in a direction to retrieve paid out line by causing the same to be wrapped around the spool.
Chalk line reels have commonly been made with a relatively small housing configuration that can be comfortably grasped by the hand of a user. This style of chalk line reel continues to be highly commercially popular and successful. However, by reason of its size, this type of chalk line reel has a limited capacity to store line and chalk.
The assignee herein offers a line of higher capacity chalk line reels, which, while functioning in substantially the same manner as those described above, accommodate a substantially greater length of line and volume of chalk.
Regardless of their configuration, the chalk line reels have a housing which accommodates a spool and defines a space for a refillable supply of chalk. Typically, the housing defining the chalk storage space has a wall with a fill opening therethrough which is in communication with the chalk storage space. Various closure systems have been devised to selectively block the fill openings. In one such closure system, a resilient plug/grommet is pressed into the fill opening so as to be frictionally held in an operative position.
The plugs/grommets are made in different forms. In one form, the plug/grommet is configured so that it must be separated from the housing to expose the fill opening. In another design, the plug/grommet has a thin wall or membrane with crossing slits therethrough so as to allow penetration by a spout on a dispensing system commonly used on containers for bulk supplies of the chalk. The spout is advanced against the thin wall/membrane and thereby bends triangular-shaped flaps inwardly to allow penetration by the spout. The flaps produce a seal around the spout and close once the spout is withdrawn so as to prevent escape of the chalk from the storage space.
Typically, this latter type of plug/grommet is designed to remain in the operative position on the housing through the chalk filling operation. The assignee herein currently offers different capacity containers with bulk chalk supplies therein, all of which utilize a discharge assembly having an elongate spout to penetrate the plug/grommet. With the larger capacity chalk line reels, refilling of the storage space with chalk using this type of discharge assembly may be a time consuming and inconvenient process. While the plugs/grommets could be wedged out of their operative position to expose the entire fill opening, the plugs/grommets are not designed to be easily or conveniently separated. Additionally, after separation, there is a risk that the plug/grommet may become lost. This is particularly a problem since the plugs/grommets are generally made from a resilient material that, once deformed to be separated, tends to spring back to an undeformed state which may cause it to be propelled away from the remainder of the chalk line reel. If this occurs, the user is required to either use a makeshift blocking structure or operate the chalk line reel with the fill opening exposed, as a result of which chalk may be allowed to escape to outside of the storage space on the chalk line reel.